Odom Unbowed By Jury Indictment
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Odom Unbowed By Jury Indictment
Date:
Mon, 26 Aug 2002 10:30:52 -400
From:
Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide
Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Odom unbowed by jury indictment
By PATRICK COURREGES
pcourreges@theadvocate.com
Capitol news bureau
State Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom last week became the third straight Louisiana agriculture commissioner to be indicted on criminal charges.
Farm interests said that, whatever the outcome of the charges, Odom has been good for Louisiana agriculture and consumers.
But a longtime lawmaker who has witnessed the legal troubles of all three commissioners -- and several other state officials -- said Odom's case is one more black eye for the rest of the nation to see. He also suggested its time to quit electing the state's chief farm official.
An East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury on Thursday indicted Odom on 21 charges, including bribery, extortion and theft, after 18 months of deliberations.
Odom said Friday that he plans to run for election to a seventh term next fall despite the indictment.
"I am anxiously looking forward to the opportunity to clear my name," he said.
Odom said he stands by his record as head of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
"He's had a pretty good impact," said state Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Smith, D-Winnfield.
"Mr. Odom's probably one of the most influential men I know in the agriculture industry," Smith said
Odom said he heard that kind of support in hundreds of phone calls following the indictment.
Both of Odom's immediate predecessors, Dave Pearce and Gil Dozier, lost elections immediately following grand jury investigations.
Pearce, who served from 1952 to 1956 and then from 1960 to 1976, lost to Dozier in 1975 after charges of bribery, perjury and extortion. The major charges were dropped. Pearce pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.
Then-East Baton Rouge District Attorney Ossie Brown said at the time that he dropped the charges because a key witness had died and because Pearce's health was a concern. Pearce died in 1984.
Dozier was convicted on federal charges of extortion and racketeering in 1980 after Odom beat him and Pearce in the 1979 election. Dozier served four years in prison.
Odom, who worked in the Louisiana Agriculture Department under Pearce and left under Dozier, hasn't had a serious election challenge since.
The agriculture commissioner's office touches the day-to-day life of just about every person in the state.
The Department of Agriculture and Forestry regulates everything from growing, harvesting, inspection and sale of crops and livestock to the calibration of the pumps at gas stations and scales in grocery stores.
The department also makes sure automatic price-readers in stores match up with the posted prices on products.
In a interview, Odom said having the grand jury's decision, even though it went against him, gives him some peace of mind in performing his duties, because the many months of uncertainty are now over.
"Everything is up now," he said. "We just want to get a speedy trial."
Louisiana Secretary of State Fox McKeithen said the indictment wasn't surprising, considering the circumstances."A grand jury that's been empaneled for 18 months can get an indictment on anybody," he said.
McKeithen said the trial may be a different story. "The Bob Odom that I've known is a good, straight man, and I'd be surprised if they find anything on him," he said.
Odom said he hopes to be standing on the courthouse steps with his name cleared by February.
That, he said, would give him plenty of time to prepare for next year's re-election campaign.
But Odom's trial, whether he is convicted or cleared, could still be a smear on the state's reputation, said state Senate President John Hainkel, R-New Orleans.
Hainkel, who has served in the state Legislature since 1968, said the word is already out in corporate board rooms across the country.
Three other statewide elected officials have been found guilty of crimes in recent years: former Elections Commissioner Jerry Fowler, former Gov. Edwin Edwards and Insurance Commissioner Jim Brown. Two previous insurance commissioners also were found guilty of corruption.
"It's very disappointing to me," Hainkel said. "It doesn't help us."
The Senate president questioned why voters even have to elect the state's top agricultural regulator.
His duties are mostly administrative, dealing with enforcing regulations set by the state, he said.
"It should be an appointed office," Hainkel said. "Frankly, somebody could get elected that had never seen a tomato grow, if the people in the urban areas got together."
Hainkel said the state should appoint experts in agricultural economy to the post.
Ronnie Anderson, president of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation, said the commissioner's office, especially under Odom, is important to agriculture both in regulation of rules and steering the creation of policies and programs to help farmers. "He's been an effective lobbyist for us," Anderson said.
The basic elements of the job -- regulating quality of feed, seed, fertilizer, livestock and produce -- are crucial to farm operations, he said.
"He's involved with all of that," Anderson said.
Beyond that are programs, such as fighting boll weevils, that the department administers, he said.
Odom has also been a key figure in shaping state and national farm policy, Anderson said. "He's been involved with a lot of subjects as far as commodity programs in Washington," Anderson said. "He's been a good advocate and spokesman for us."
Anderson said Odom has served the farm community well in building coalitions within the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.
Odom said he plans to let his attorney, Mary Olive Pierson, deal with legal matters, while he concerns himself with the operation of his department. "If she's got an issue or something to look at, I'll look at it," he said.
Odom said he has plenty to do dealing with the disease aflatoxin in this year's corn crop, helping get disaster payments to farmers suffering from last year's problems, helping coordinate spraying mosquitoes to control West Nile virus and preparing farm legislation for next year.
No matter the potential distraction, Odom said he will continue to do his job. "I have spent my adult life in service to the people of Louisiana," he said.
http://www.theadvocate.com/stories/082502/new_unbowed001.shtml
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